Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Module 2 Blog Post continued
After taking the rest of yesterday off to blow off some much needed steam I return to you all a little bit more refreshed and a whole lot more calm. To continue where I left off yesterday I am amazed by the capabilities computers and technology provide for us to communicate. While I am sure that whatever those crazy technologists are working on now is way out of my current level of understanding, in five years my niece who will then be seven will be explaining to me how to use the newest communication tool. I may not have all my technology ducks in a row so to speak right now, but isn't that why we are all back in school? To learn more and to better understand the available technology around us. My only major concern right now is what else am I missing out on? Just think about it, if I just now found out about skype, what else could I be using that I don't even know exists!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Module 2 Blog Posting Attempt # 2
Okay here goes nothing.
After watching the George Siemens video for this week I was excited about the growing acceptance of distance education. One of the reasons for the growing acceptance of disantce educaiton is the advancement of communication ability. For as communication abilities rise the physical geographical space that separates students from eachother and the instructor is lessened. I know that through this program at Walden University I have increased my ability to communicate, for technologies as Skype were not even part of my reality and today it is a part of my every day vocabulary. Communication technologies have evolved from being limited to face-to-face interaction only to now being able to write letters, make a phone call, write an email, a text message or now even a Skype. Sites such as wikispaces, blog spots and online classrooms and class cafes all allow learners to have interactions with one another.
This is only a fraction of what I had before, but mental fatigue and frustration is limiting my ability to communicate right now. I will write more in a bit. DANG IT!
After watching the George Siemens video for this week I was excited about the growing acceptance of distance education. One of the reasons for the growing acceptance of disantce educaiton is the advancement of communication ability. For as communication abilities rise the physical geographical space that separates students from eachother and the instructor is lessened. I know that through this program at Walden University I have increased my ability to communicate, for technologies as Skype were not even part of my reality and today it is a part of my every day vocabulary. Communication technologies have evolved from being limited to face-to-face interaction only to now being able to write letters, make a phone call, write an email, a text message or now even a Skype. Sites such as wikispaces, blog spots and online classrooms and class cafes all allow learners to have interactions with one another.
This is only a fraction of what I had before, but mental fatigue and frustration is limiting my ability to communicate right now. I will write more in a bit. DANG IT!
Gosh darn technology!
After typing my blog for over a half hour I posted it and it is now freaking blank. I am more than a bit irritated so I will try this again. After a few seriously deep breaths.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Hey all you crazy Walden Students out there!
I have officially changed my blog to make it easier for everyone to post comments to. Below you will find my previous blogs from blogline only now you should be able to comment on them! Thanks again for being patient as I figure all these gooey gooey goodness thingies out!
Kassidy
Kassidy
Oops! I forgot to attach the links to the articles!
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 1: Training and development). TechTrends, 52(3), 70-75. Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article's Accession Number: 33281719.
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66-70. Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article's Accession Number: 33991516.
Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008, September/October). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5). 63-67.
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66-70. Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article's Accession Number: 33991516.
Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008, September/October). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5). 63-67.
Module 1 Blog Post
Good news, I survived Chapter 2!
This module we had to read a series of three different journal articles written by our own amazingly talented Dr. Moller and his counterparts Huett, Foshay, and Coleman. I was really impressed by these articles. When I first decided that I wanted to become an educational technologist I really thought that meant that I would become the know it all of programs and how to use them. I never realized or understood how much a part of being an educational technolgist revolved around online learning. But now that I am getting further and further into the program I am realizing how interested I am in online learning. This is AWESOME! I finally feel like I know what I want to be when I grow up.
I have to say I found the articles for this week to be very interesting and thought provoking. Here are some of the thoughts that I had as I read through the three articles:
Article 1:
I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this article and agreed with the opinions that it represented. The quote that had a lasting impact on me was "The challenge for ID professionals is not only to evolve the field, but also to assure that the products of sound professional design practice lead the elearning enterprise." I thought this quote was extremely represenative of the job that instructional designers and educational technologist have to accomplish when designing curriculum and technology for online learners. Having the right balance is key to a learners success in an e-learning environment. The other piece of information that I completely agree with was the idea that the ROI (Return on Investment) must be impressive in order for a technology to be worth the investment. And lets face it, in education the real return of investment is not money, it is learning, and when learning is occuring the technology is worth the time and expense.
Article 2:
After reading article 2 I had to agree with the opinions that were expressed for I found myself reflecting the reasons for my choice of becoming an online learner. While I was scared to try the online learning environment because I am such a face-to-face learner the benefits of becoming an online learner far outwayed the fears I may have had. The other idea that I found myself agreeing with was the opinion of online learning being too personally consuming. I have found in the last four months I am constantly thinking, reading, or working on assignments for this program, not that I didn't expect ot be busy, but my goodness I didn't realize it would take over my life the way it has, for I never know if I am doing enough on my assignments, and I don't have any comparisons to make with other people's work so I constantly feel like I don't know what I am doing, which is not a fun feeling for me. But hopefully I will work this out in my head before I drown trying to finish!
Article 3:
I was surprised to see negative effects of online learning in this article. I guess I just hadn't really thought about the down sides of elearning for younger students, but it was nice to have the cons presented to me in such a matter of fact manner. I tend to agree that regular high schools don't work for all students, but I was faced with the fact that neither will online learning today and I have to agree with that too. For not all students can handle the lack of social interaction and the negative effects of no social interaction. I found myself thinking of a world where everybody was the stereotypical computer geek with no social interaction skills and was terrified, but it is all about finding the balance of education and what will work for one, may not be right for another.
Big week everyone! Buck up and we can do it! Good luck
Kassidy
This module we had to read a series of three different journal articles written by our own amazingly talented Dr. Moller and his counterparts Huett, Foshay, and Coleman. I was really impressed by these articles. When I first decided that I wanted to become an educational technologist I really thought that meant that I would become the know it all of programs and how to use them. I never realized or understood how much a part of being an educational technolgist revolved around online learning. But now that I am getting further and further into the program I am realizing how interested I am in online learning. This is AWESOME! I finally feel like I know what I want to be when I grow up.
I have to say I found the articles for this week to be very interesting and thought provoking. Here are some of the thoughts that I had as I read through the three articles:
Article 1:
I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this article and agreed with the opinions that it represented. The quote that had a lasting impact on me was "The challenge for ID professionals is not only to evolve the field, but also to assure that the products of sound professional design practice lead the elearning enterprise." I thought this quote was extremely represenative of the job that instructional designers and educational technologist have to accomplish when designing curriculum and technology for online learners. Having the right balance is key to a learners success in an e-learning environment. The other piece of information that I completely agree with was the idea that the ROI (Return on Investment) must be impressive in order for a technology to be worth the investment. And lets face it, in education the real return of investment is not money, it is learning, and when learning is occuring the technology is worth the time and expense.
Article 2:
After reading article 2 I had to agree with the opinions that were expressed for I found myself reflecting the reasons for my choice of becoming an online learner. While I was scared to try the online learning environment because I am such a face-to-face learner the benefits of becoming an online learner far outwayed the fears I may have had. The other idea that I found myself agreeing with was the opinion of online learning being too personally consuming. I have found in the last four months I am constantly thinking, reading, or working on assignments for this program, not that I didn't expect ot be busy, but my goodness I didn't realize it would take over my life the way it has, for I never know if I am doing enough on my assignments, and I don't have any comparisons to make with other people's work so I constantly feel like I don't know what I am doing, which is not a fun feeling for me. But hopefully I will work this out in my head before I drown trying to finish!
Article 3:
I was surprised to see negative effects of online learning in this article. I guess I just hadn't really thought about the down sides of elearning for younger students, but it was nice to have the cons presented to me in such a matter of fact manner. I tend to agree that regular high schools don't work for all students, but I was faced with the fact that neither will online learning today and I have to agree with that too. For not all students can handle the lack of social interaction and the negative effects of no social interaction. I found myself thinking of a world where everybody was the stereotypical computer geek with no social interaction skills and was terrified, but it is all about finding the balance of education and what will work for one, may not be right for another.
Big week everyone! Buck up and we can do it! Good luck
Kassidy
Working Hard
While it may be summer vacation, I feel like I am working more now than when I was in the classroom teaching all day. I guess that is because teaching is fun and this degree is hard.
What a busy week for assignments! Could chapter 2 of Diffusion of Innovations be ANY longer. My goodness.
Anyway I am working on finishing the articles and will be posting my reflection to them shortly. My printer is out of ink, so I need to read them online. Tough on the eyes I tell you. Does anyone know if there is a highlighting function in PDF's? Just a thought.
Be back soon, if chapter 2 doesn't permanently put me to sleep.
Kassidy
What a busy week for assignments! Could chapter 2 of Diffusion of Innovations be ANY longer. My goodness.
Anyway I am working on finishing the articles and will be posting my reflection to them shortly. My printer is out of ink, so I need to read them online. Tough on the eyes I tell you. Does anyone know if there is a highlighting function in PDF's? Just a thought.
Be back soon, if chapter 2 doesn't permanently put me to sleep.
Kassidy
Welcom to my blog
While I have never had a blog in the past I am kind of excited now that I have one! I also want to mention that after reading the course descriptions for this class and Dr. Thornburg's class I am really interested in the class projects. I think I will like these projects more than the timeline assignment (no offense Dr. Deubel). Here is to hoping that the course work becomes more interesting and more fun.
Kassidy
Kassidy
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